5 5.

Elliot ran his fingers over the top of Sheree's head, her thick dark hair abrasive against his fingers. He couldn't believe this was actually his life. Yesterday he had skipped out on training, just to have some time away from Sheree. He was mentally tired, of constantly thinking about her. She was always on his mind to some degree, but over the last few days, she was all he thought about. Touching her, kissing her, and whatever else his brain created for him to imagine doing to her. It was tiresome being constantly aroused by someone who wouldn't even hold his hand any more. Also how sad was it that the highlight of his romantic life was holding his roommate's hand a few times?

His plan had worked too. After classes he went to his dorm and found nothing but silence. He laid on his bed and watched some mindless television. It was nice to just zone out, that was until Sheree walked into the room way earlier than she was supposed to. Being caught in a lie was new to Elliot, so his first reaction was to be as apologetic as possible. In normal Sheree fashion, she didn't care though. She was only concerned with her own agenda. Luckily for Elliot, her agenda was a makeout session.

Elliot had never kissed a girl before, but he wasn't going to let that little detail stop him. He was all about learning things on the fly. Once they started kissing they didn't let each other go. Other than to change into the clothing they slept in, they spent the rest of that night wrapped in each other's arms. Now it was time to get up and get ready for classes and Sheree was asleep with her head on his chest. The low, constant vibrations from their bodies was a feeling that Elliot had learned to live with. It seemed like the longer they touched, the less powerful the feeling was. He wondered if it could ever cease to happen.

Sheree stirred and grabbed his full attention.

"Hey, we actually have to get up," Elliot said and ran a finger along her outer ear.

"Aww, do we have to?" Sheree asked in a sleepy, satisfied, and unusually vulnerable voice.

The question made Elliot smile, he liked this side of her. He wasn't sure where it came from, but its appearance was a welcome one. Apparently Sheree had also heard herself and she had a completely different reaction to it. She suddenly bolted upright and jumped out of his bed. She started to walk back to her side of the room and turned back around and walked over to the side of the bed he was lying on. Elliot was now leaning on an elbow with a confused look on his face. She leaned in and kissed him deeply. Her left hand gently moved through his dark brown curls, while her right hand slid down his abdomen and across the length of his erect member from outside of his boxers. He inhaled sharply at her touch. Then she backed away again.

"I... needed to do that, for some reason, now leave me alone," Sheree said and walked away from him.

Elliots heartbeat felt more like an upbeat drum solo in his chest. When he felt her hand on him, his first thought was that he was imagining it. But after that strange explanation of why she did it he knew it really happened. The way she walked away from him though made him feel like she might be about to shut down on him again. He couldn't let that happen.

"Hey, we never go to the student lounge. Let's do that after classes today," he said, hoping she wouldn't say no.

"Why would I do something so pointless?" she asked and stared at him. She was in her towel, about to get into the shower.

"Do you need some company in there?" Elliot asked, completely distracted.

Sheree seemed to zone out for a second before shaking her head.

"No, now why would I waste a perfectly good night by spending it in the lounge?" she said, she sounded genuinely curious to Elliot.

Elliot twirled a piece of his hair as he thought of an answer. He could only think of one thing to say and he knew it wouldn't work. Then again it was his only answer so he let it fly.

"Do it for me,please? I kinda wanna go there," he said without much hope in his voice.

"Okay, but only because you were honest about it. It... bothered me, yesterday when you weren't sick. I'm not sure why, but I don't like the idea of you telling me something that's not the truth," She said flatly and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Elliot jumped and did his happy dance again. He couldn't believe she agreed to go with him. His luck was changing for the better after all.

The classes he took that day seemed to crawl by. He learned absolutely nothing, and spent the entire day looking at the clock. When his last class ended he almost ran to the lounge. When he got there and realized Sheree wasn't there yet, he did his best to look casual as he waited outside for her.

"Why didn't you go inside," She asked as she strolled up to him.

"I didn't want you to have to walk in alone. I know you don't like being around people," Elliot said.

Elliot didn't realize that was his reason for waiting until the words came out of his mouth. The slight smile that Sheree gave told him that he hadn't made a mistake in doing so. When she took his hand he almost lost his mind.

"She's holding my hand in public!" he thought to himself as the wide smile spread across his face.

Elliot only led her as far as walking went. The moment they were inside he asked her what she wanted to do. There were billiards, air hockey, and ping pong tables. As well as several arcade games lining the back wall of the room. There was even a small kitchen where they could order snacks. The first thing Sheree wanted to play was ping pong, she dominated him in it. She seemed to enjoy watching him dive for the ball after she slammed his shots back at him. She also didn't mind using her power to slow any shot that he slammed enough to hit it. Elliot didn't mind her beating him or even cheating to do so, he was just enjoying her presence.

After getting destroyed in ping pong Elliot got beaten in billiards and air hockey. He and Sheree ordered some nachos and fountain sodas and sat at one of the empty eating tables to eat.

"I think you're enjoying yourself," Elliot said before crunching a nacho.

"I do too," Sheree said, making it sound like a bad thing.

Elliot thought about what that could mean as he chewed a chip. His thoughts were interrupted when Luisa Fell, the class rep for controller class students, walked up with a new student.

""We're in luck, two of your new teammates are actually here. This is Elliot Vasquez and Sheree Hart. She said to the extremely tall student.

"Hi, I'm Joshua Loane, but just Josh is fine," He said and smiled, deep dimples appeared in his olive colored cheeks.

"Okay Just Josh, nice to meet you," Elliot said and stood to greet him.

Elliot found himself feeling self conscious standing next to the dimpled giant with his long silky hair and tribal tattoo.

"Well, we have more to see, so he'll see you guys at training tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your date," Luisa said and walked away with Josh.

At the sound of the word date Sheree flinched. Elliot sat back down as she stood up.

"Are you done with your food?" He asked and stood up as well.

"Are we on a date?" Sheree asked, ignoring his question.

"I didn't label it a date, but I guess it could be classified as one,why?" He asked as she walked toward the door.

She didn't say a word, even as they walked back into their dorm room. She sat on her bed and started taking off her shoes.

"You have to talk to me, just like you expect honesty from me, I expect it from you too. So what is going on right now?" He asked and stood in front of her bed.

Sheree considered his words briefly before speaking.

"Okay, it's a fair request. I don't do things like dating. There are things that I have been doing as of late that are not normal for me, and it bothers me," Sheree said calmly.

"So you're pulling away again, in other words," Elliot said and threw his hands up in frustration.

Sheree stood up and walked over to him. Elliot resisted the urge to respond when she put her arms around his shoulders and looked into his deep brown eyes.

"This is all new to me, this side of me is new to me. I promise it's not you," she said. Her voice was oddly warm and caring.

"What about getting stronger, apparently this is what works for us. Are we just gonna stop gaining power now?" Elliot asked, unable to keep himself from staring back into her eyes.

"No, but for now I need it to just be a necessity and not something we do for fun or pleasure," she said. She pulled his head down to hers and softly kissed him.